Noah Baumbach first garnered attention in the world of independent film with his films Kicking and Screaming and Mr. Jealousy. Now the boy is blowing up with his co-scripting duties on Wes Andersons The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.

Daniel Robert Epstein: Was it intimidating following Owen Wilson and Wes Andersons last script for The Royal Tenenbaums?

Noah Baumbach: Only when Im asked that question. Wes and I have had a friendship since we met in New York a bunch of years ago. In social situations we always used to come up with ideas so this movie came out of that. I was obviously aware of his other collaboration but this movie came out of our relationship. I never really felt like I was stepping into someone elses shoes. It was just something we were doing.

DRE: What was the writing process?

NB: The writing was done at Wes favorite Italian restaurant in New York City everyday. We would meet everyday at 1pm, we would eat then work through dinner. All the writing was done in front of one another. We would go home and think about things but we wouldnt write pages then bring them in.

Originally Wes had some ideas that he brought me like an oceanographer, birds flying around and the idea of the cross section of the boat. But the story itself and the characters were not there. He did have the idea of maybe his son showing up. We quickly came up with Alistair Hennessey. There was a lot of stuff having to do with Hennessey and Zissou at the academy that never made it into the movie.

DRE: A lot of people call Wes Anderson an auteur; do you feel that this film is uniquely Baumbachian as well?

NB: No. What was really great about the writing process is that we settled everything in front of each other. If one of us came up with a line we would work on it together. By the time it was done I honestly dont know who came up with what. To me it feels like a Wes Anderson movie which was my intention. It wasnt like we were writing a brand new script and we didnt know who was going to direct. Im glad if people see me in the movie. For me a lot of fun of it was participating in a movie I never would have dreamed up by myself.

DRE: What did the actors know about their roles before you and Wes gave them the scripts?

NB: Nothing which I think is because its Wes. He told them about the movie but what was fun was knowing that these were the actors we were writing for. Therefore now we could push them in directions that they had never gone before.

DRE: Did Bill Murray change any dialogue?

NB: No, not at all. When I saw the whole movie for the first time I was thrilled to see what Wes had done but it also very much felt like the movie we had written. What Wes does is that he casts a lot of actors who are more chaotic in nature. Bill and Owen improvise in other movies but at the same time Wes has a real vision and specificity. There is a great conflict there that I think works in the movie.

DRE: Who came up with the name Zissou?

NB: Originally it was Steve Cocteau and thats how we wrote it for a while. After a while it felt like that was too cute. Wes came in and showed me the name, Zissou, on his notebook. I didnt know how it was pronounced and Im still not sure. I think its even pronounced a few different ways in the movie.

DRE: Are you prepared to answer questions about working with Wes for the rest of your life?

NB: Uh..sure. Want to know his favorite color?

DRE: What are you doing next together?

NB: We are adapting the Roald Dahl book, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, to be made as a stop motion film directed by Wes and Henry Selick.

DRE: How do you like the process of adaptation?

NB: Some of it is easier because you know where you are going. The book is only about 35 pages long so we have to elaborate.

DRE: Was the crew member playing the David Bowie songs in the script?

NB: Yes it was. We knew one of the crew members was going to be playing Bowie songs. Once the crew member became Pel we knew he would be playing them in his language.

We both really like Bowie and those songs we chose sound really good when you slow them down and play them acoustically. There is something about those folkier early Bowie songs that sounds nice acoustic.

DRE: Did working with Wes influence your next movie, The Squid and the Whale?

NB: Wes is producing it and he helped me with that script before we even got into The Life Aquatic.